Failed Dam Policies

Boy, I'm sure tired of the salmon-and-dams debate that has raged for more than a decade and gotten us nowhere.

Removing the four lower Snake dams seems like a no-brainer to me.

It makes ecological sense. We've been trying other solutions for 15 years. They haven't worked. We have no sockeye in Redfish Lake. And this year, spring chinook returns were so bad our fishing seasons here in Idaho have been cut significantly.

It makes economic sense. Our region has spent billions on failed salmon recovery plans over the last 15 years and the Bush administration plans to spend $6 billion more over the next 10. Let's invest in something that will work: removing the lower Snake dams. Let's spend a billion on dam removal, and four billion investing in Lewiston, power production and keeping farmers and others affected by removal whole. We'll still be money ahead.

We need political leadership that looks forward, not leaders stuck on backing failed policies.